Illinois
Illinois lawmakers discuss state’s behavioral and mental health care shortage
CHICAGO (WGEM) – Illinois has a shortage of behavioral and mental health care workers and state lawmakers are looking for solutions.
Thursday, the state Senate Behavioral and Mental Health Committee and state House Mental Health and Addiction Committee held a joint hearing in Chicago hearing directly from those working in the field about their struggles.
“We really are at an inflection point when it comes to behavioral health access in Illinois,” said state Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, D-Chicago.
Right now, there are more people seeking mental health treatment but those in the industry said there aren’t enough people to treat them.
“The primary impact of the behavioral health workforce shortage is its impact on the well-being of Illinois’ residents at times when they are most vulnerable. Individuals and families too often search for behavioral health care for themselves or a loved one and give up their search due long wait times, high costs and travel distances,” said Dr. Kari Wolf, the chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
She said for those who don’t give up trying to find help, it can take several months to see a therapist, six months to see a psychiatrist and over a year for neuropsychological testing.
“Could you imagine waiting six months if you had just been diagnosed with cancer and waiting six months to receive care for that,” Wolf said.
She said Illinois simply doesn’t have enough mental health professionals to meet demand.
She did give lawmakers recommendations to help alleviate the crisis:
- Streamlining licensing
- Expanding pathway and mentorship programs
- Creating new clinical training programs and sites
- Provide postgraduate training for nurse practitioners and physician assistants
- Increase Medicaid reimbursement rates
- Improving the state’s mental health insurance coverage parity law
“At the end of the day, if we don’t have humans in positions and paid jobs that pay decent and well, then even with that willing to seek treatment, people all across Illinois won’t be able to access it,” LaPointe said.
Thursday’s hearing is on the start for committee members. They plan to hold another hearing Feb. 23 in Chicago looking for potential solutions to the crisis.
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Illinois
Where to watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois today: TV channel, time
Iowa basketball (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) welcomes in No. 16 Illinois (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a top-25 conference tilt.
The 19th-ranked Hawkeyes are looking to get the taste of a frustrating road loss at Minnesota out of their mouths. Iowa trailed by as many as 14, but rallied back to take the lead in the game’s final two minutes. The Golden Gophers hit a go-ahead 3-pointer from Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and then watched as a series of potential game-tying Iowa threes wouldn’t drop in a final, frantic sequence from Williams Arena.
Illinois enters winners of four straight and six of their past seven. The Illini rolled past Rutgers on Thursday, 81-55.
Watch Iowa vs. Illinois
Iowa owns a 57-24 all-time record against Illinois in Iowa City, though the Illini have owned the series of late. Illinois has won four straight over Iowa and nine of the past 10. That stretch of success from the Illini comes on the heels of a five-game Iowa win streak in the series from 2018-20.
As tipoff approaches, here’s how and when Hawkeye fans can watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois:
How to watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois
TV: Fox
Tipoff Time: 11 a.m.
Iowa battles Illinois on Fox in its “Gold Out” game from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Jason Benetti (play-by-play) will be joined by Steve Smith (color).
How to stream Iowa basketball vs. Illinois
Hawkeye fans can stream Iowa basketball vs. Illinois with Fubo, which offers a free trial to first-time subscribers.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnHawks
Illinois
Ex-husband charged in Tepe murders, held in Illinois jail
The ex-husband of a woman found shot to death with her current husband Dec. 30 in Columbus’ Weinland Park neighborhood has been charged with murder in the deaths.
Michael David McKee, 39, of Chicago, faces two counts of murder, according to Franklin County Municipal Court documents.
According to online court records, a warrant was issued Jan. 10 for McKee’s arrest. Winnebago County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Office records indicate he was booked into jail there shortly before noon local time. He will remain there until authorities extradite him back to Franklin County.
Winnebago County court records show McKee is scheduled for a hearing there on Jan. 12, likely an extradition hearing to begin the process of his return to Ohio.
Monique Tepe, 39, and Spencer Tepe, 37, died Dec. 30, just after their five-year wedding anniversary, after being found shot inside their home on the 1400 block of North 4th Street in Weinland Park. The couple’s two young children, both under the age of 5, were found physically unhurt inside the home.
Columbus homicide detectives identified McKee through neighborhood video surveillance, police alleged in court documents. They tracked the suspect “to a vehicle which arrived just prior to the homicides and left shortly after.” They found the vehicle in Rockford, Illinois, and found evidence that McKee had the vehicle before and after the killings.
Columbus police have not publicly identified a potential motive in the couple’s deaths.
In a statement released after McKee’s arrest, the Tepe family thanked Columbus police for their “tireless” work to find the suspect.
“Nothing can undo the devastating loss of two lives taken far too soon,” the Tepe family said. “We thank the community for the continued support, prayers and compassion shown throughout this tragedy. As the case proceeds, we trust the justice system to hold the person responsible fully accountable.
“Monique and Spencer remain at the center of our hearts, and we carry forward their love as we surround and protect the two children they leave behind,” the statement said. “We will continue to honor their lives and the light they brought into this world.”
McKee and Monique married in 2015, according to Franklin County Domestic Court records. She filed for divorce in May 2017 with the formal divorce decree being issued about a month later. Court filings indicate the divorce was amicable. Monique did not share any children with McKee, whom the divorce filings identify as living in Virginia at the time.
Around 9 a.m. on Dec. 30, coworkers of Spencer’s from the dentistry office where he worked in Athens called Columbus police after Spencer did not show up for work and no one could reach Spencer or Monique by phone.
An officer went to do a well-being check but went to a home on Summit Street instead of the Tepe home, according to Columbus police body camera video. About 40 minutes after that check, friends of the Tepes found them dead in their home.
Police have focused the investigation on the window of time between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Dec. 30, which is when they believe the couple was killed. On Jan. 5, detectives released video from a security camera showing a person walking in an alley near the Tepes’ home during that time frame, calling the person a “person of interest.”
That person is now believed to be McKee.
Medical licensure databases show McKee has active licenses in both Illinois and California. He is identified as working as a vascular surgeon in a practice in the Rockford area, the same area where his vehicle was found.
McKee went to medical school at Ohio State University and has family in the Zanesville area, according to publicly available information.
A public visitation for the Tepes will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Schoedinger Northwest funeral home on Zollinger Road in Upper Arlington. An additional gathering for a celebration of life will occur from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at Due Amici in Columbus.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
Illinois
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